


Dough

by SpicyGoddess



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Cooking, Gen, characters might be OOC, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:48:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24107008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicyGoddess/pseuds/SpicyGoddess
Summary: “We are making bread.”“But we already know how to make bread.”
Relationships: Halt O'Carrick & Will Treaty
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	Dough

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by my own in ability to make frybread/tortillas round. I've made every shape featured in this fic except the correct ones.

The twang of a bow sounded across the field as Will fired his last shot into the targets that had been set out. He went to retrieve them, missing the light of approval in his mentors eyes as he watched from the doorway of the cabin. 

He brought all of his arrows back, but as he reached for his quiver to resume practicing a hand grasped his wrist. He curiously looked at his mentor who motioned to the landscape around them. “I think it’s time to break for the night.” 

Will looked at the meadow around them and couldn’t help but agree as he now noticed that the landscape around them had become blanketed in the blue light that came with the setting of the sun. 

“I have one more thing to teach you tonight.” Halt said, pulling Will’s attention back to him before moving toward the cabin.

Will’s head cocked slightly to the side, about to start asking exactly what Halt was talking about, but Halt raised a hand to stop the flow of questions before they could start. “You will see in a moment,” he said, stride not breaking.

Will shrugged to himself and followed Halt inside to the kitchen. Before he could stop himself- or Halt could stop him a second time, the flow of questions began. 

“Are you going to teach me how to cook? I already know how, you make me cook...most of the time actually.” His face scrunched at this realization, but there was hardly a pause before he continued speaking. “Are we learning how to cook a certain way? How is it different from how we normally do it?”

Halt sighed, motioning to a covered bowl and a small pile of flour.

“We are making bread.”

“But we already know how to make bread.”

Halt made a noise of acknowledgement before moving the cover off the bowl, he motioned for Will to step forward and his apprentice did without question. “Grab a chunk of it and make it a ball. Put some flour on it, but not too much.” 

Will did as he was told and made a face “It’s sticky!” 

“That is what the flour is for.” Halt said flatly as he rolled up his sleeves and did the same as Will had, only with less commentary. 

“Why not just make it less sticky at the start?” Will asked, making a face at the dough that had remained stuck to his hand.

Halt raised an eyebrow at this. “If you would prefer, I could make it with so much flour the dough wouldn’t stick together.” 

Will made a face as Halt finished adding flour onto his ball. “Pat it down.” Halt told him and did just that, Will copied his movements.

“Now what?” 

“Knead it along the edges to stretch it out.” Without specifying further, Halt began to move the dough in a circle, pulling lightly at the edges and stretching it out. Within half a minute he had a circle, which he placed on a pan Will hadn’t yet noticed. 

Will tried to copy his movements and made a frustrated noise as his shape came out much more angular than the circle Halt had made. He frowned and rolled it up into a ball, intending to start again.

“Be careful with how many times you knead that,” Halt spoke without looking at Will, instead he flipped the partially cooked dough in the pan.

“How did yours come out so round?” Will asked, his tone almost accusing as he started again, going slower this time. He realized with some frustration it was looking more like a square.

“Like anything Will, it just take-”

Will interrupted him. “Practice, I know. But I did exactly what you did!”

Halt’s tone sounded amused- while at least amused to Will. Most wouldn’t have picked up on the shift in tone. “Did you?” 

Will made a snort of minor frustration as he heard the pans contents being shuffled around the edges as the bread was removed.

“I think that will do Will, put it in the pan and make another.”

Will not so gently plopped his square into the pan. He then went back to the dough to form another ball. After squishing it into a thick disk he moved his fingers along the edges stretching it out, but it came out longer one way than the other. He made a noise of frustration. He held it by the top and shook it lightly, hoping that it would stretch out to become less like a rectangle. 

He heard a huff of amusement, “Do you think gravity is going to help you?”

Will shook it again, “If it's so willing to work against me, it should be just as willing to help too.”

Halt just shook his head, gaze angled to the floor. Will knew he was smiling, the bastard. 

“I think your rectangle will do fine, Will.” He motioned to the pan and Will plopped it a little more vicious than the previous one.”Start another.”

Will began the process again, this time Halt didn’t need to tell him to put his oddly shaped dough on the pan. 

“Huh.” Was all Halt said while Will began another. This one wasn’t a circle either, instead it looked vaguely like a heart.

Will came with his next shape, this one was shaped almost like a house. Suddenly as Will put it on the pan he made a realization. “You did this on purpose! You knew I wouldn’t be able to do it right!”

Halt shrugged. “I do not know how I could do this on purpose Will, when I am not aware of your previous experience.” 

Will glared at him as he began on the last pieces of dough. He knew Halt would be more than able to feel his eyes.

Halt looked at Will after a few moments, a spark of amusement in his eyes, “Then again, even with years to perfect it, Gilan’s still look the same as yours.”

Will laughed at that. “Has he ever managed one like this?” The apprentice asked as he tossed the final shape onto the pan, this one looking almost like a circle. Almost.

Amusement tinged his mentor's voice as he replied “No, not one that I’ve seen.”


End file.
